Andy Burnham, as Prime Minister, has confirmed a new initiative offering households a discount of £2,500 off their energy bills over the next ten years. This scheme targets residents living within 500 metres of newly proposed pylons.
The government has revealed plans for several significant pylon projects, including the Bramford to Twinstead line in East Anglia, the North London Reinforcement project, and the Emmock substation in north east Scotland. These upgrades form part of a wider strategy to modernise the country’s electricity grid, allowing for the integration of new clean energy sources, enhancing energy security, lowering consumer costs, and addressing climate change.
Meanwhile, the Labour government faces criticism over the development of the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil fields. Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, highlighted concerns about public misinformation amidst environmental challenges, stating, “We are expecting a fifth summer heatwave, wildfires are burning the country, oil and gas companies are posting billions in profits, while the right-wing press and fossil fuel companies are pushing for Rosebank and Jackdaw approval. It’s pure cognitive dissonance.”
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According to an environmental impact assessment submitted by Adura- a joint venture between Shell and Norway’s Equinor- the Jackdaw gasfield would directly create only 27 full-time jobs. The report notes that across the field’s lifetime, there would be an average of nearly 500 jobs annually, including direct, indirect, and induced employment. However, only 273 of these jobs are current roles at the nearby Shearwater host installation, with an additional 27 specific to Jackdaw.
Greenpeace political campaigner Angharad Hopkinson remarked on the employment figures, saying, “Fossil fuel cheerleaders have repeatedly defended new oil and gas developments by claiming they are vital for employment. Those claims look increasingly difficult to justify when the developer’s own documents tell a very different story.”
Tessa Khan, executive director of campaign group Uplift, cautioned against prioritising fossil fuel interests, stating, “It would be a mistake if the first thing Andy Burnham does as prime minister is cave into the demands of the profiteering oil and gas industry. These are companies that have made obscene profits, while our energy costs have skyrocketed. New North Sea drilling will not take a penny off our bills; it will just make a handful of executives and their shareholders even richer.”